Patent Elastic Ankle Boot
In the 1830s an English shoemaker named J. Sparkes-Hall was trying to develop a slip-on boot that didn’t require lacing or buckles, and was short enough that a person could easily put them on and take them off without assistance.
He tried several different methods to mixed or poor results, but it was after the development of vulcanized rubber that he found the answer.
Vulcanization is the process of heating up natural rubber and adding chemicals, chiefly sulfur, to make the rubber harder and more elastic over a greater range of temperatures. The process was discovered and invented by Charles Goodyear in the late 1830s. The name comes from Vulcan, the Roman God of fire and forges.
J. Sparkes-Hall used this new rubber to make gussets that he inserted between the vamp and quarters of ankle boots, so they could be slipped on and off easily, but still fit snugly on the foot. He presented a pair to Queen Victoria, who was apparently pleased with them.
In 1851 he received a patent for his boots, and called them Patent Elastic Ankle Boots.
His advertisements of the day included a reference to the Queen, who was said to wear them for daily walks to much satisfaction. Sales took off, as anything good enough for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were good enough for an adoring public. Then, as now, people followed the fashion trends of celebrities.
The boot style was popular right up to World War I, when they fell out of favor. With an increasing percentage of people living in urban areas, and the installation of paved roads and sidewalks, the need for boots diminished, and for those who continued to wear them, lace-up boots were more favored.
A boot using the elastic gussets was worn by stable hands and those who were often around horses, as the ease of removing and then cleaning ankle boots that had no laces was desired. They became known as paddock boots, from their use around such enclosures.
We then move down the road, or into town, actually. To London, and the borough of Chelsea, which was for many years the haunt of artists, poets, and writers who lived there at the end of the 19th century. This flavor attracted the bohemian and artist culture of post-WWII London, and famous and fashionable people moved in. The crowd became known in the press as the “Chelsea Set,” and when it was noticed that the elastic gusset ankle boot was favored by that crowd, it was renamed the Chelsea Boot.
Rock musicians liked the boots and took to wearing them. In fact, while touring in Hamburg, Germany, The Beatles saw Chelsea Boots being worn by a London band, and back in London they commissioned footwear company Anello and Davide to make them with the addition of the “cuban heel.” This was a higher heel long part of flamenco dance shoes. With the addition of a seam up the center of the uppers, this became known as the Beatle Boot, which became the standard choice of footwear throughout the rock and roll world, along with traditional Chelsea boots.
The Chelsea Boots could be seen in fashion, film, on television, and in print. During the 1960s on the English TV show, The Avengers, the always fashionable and gentlemanly agent John Steed, created and played by Patrick Macnee, was always wearing Chelsea boots. He had them in a range of colors to fit his suits, and wore them with any level of formality.
Since that time they have never really lost favor. Today they are a staple of footwear in the closets of both men and women (they were always a uni-sex product) throughout the world, particularly where British and American fashions prevail.
I own three pairs of Chelsea Boots. All three were made by the American men’s footwear company Allen Edmonds, in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
The first I got were from the Nomad collection, and feature uppers in brown nubuck, with hard rubber soles, and built using the Goodyear welt construction method.
(The Goodyear in question was actually Charles Goodyear Junior, the son of the great vulcanizer. Junior invented a machine that could sew a leather welt to the sole and upper, making what is considered the gold standard of shoe construction. More about that elsewhere or later.)
Nubuck is top grain leather that has been sanded to produce a slight nap on the surface, similar to suede, but not as pronounced, and since it is top grain versus the “split” that suede is made from, it is much stronger and longer wearing than suede.
This style has a slightly rounded toe and a fuller foot. It is a more casual boot, but I have worn them with a medium blue suit.
The second two pairs are both called Liverpool, a name obviously intended to associate them with The Beatles, though they do not carry the distinctive characteristics of the Beatle Boots. The Liverpool is very much a classic Chelsea Boot with a snug fit and a slightly chiseled toe. Of these, the first was a pair in black calfskin, which is the classic look you’d expect to see on the feet of rock stars and celebrities. While I find black the most overrated and least versatile color in men’s footwear and should be confined to the more formal outfits, in classic Chelsea Boots they are a must and can be combined with looks from black tie to blue jeans.
The third pair is Liverpool in Walnut calfskin. This is by far the prettiest of the three. Walnut is a medium light tan with a rich woody feel. Like a polished golden oak, they are standout boots with any outfit where dark shoes are not required. I think they’re too light for a navy suit, though it is paired often enough in America, they are fine with a medium or royal blue, and of course gray, charcoal, brown, or other colors. And of course with chinos and jeans they rock. Both pairs of Liverpool are 360 degree Goodyear welt construction but with vegetable tanned leather soles with rubber v-treads at the forefoot and toe for better traction.
I have more than twenty pairs of dress shoes and boots in a variety of styles, both casual and formal. And while I love putting on a nice pair of wingtips or moccasin toe loafers, I could almost see myself switching to an all Chelsea Boot lineup.
I don’t think I will, but as versatile, comfortable, and cool as heck as they are, a fashionable man could easily do it. Just ask John Steed.